


An Easy Gesture

by samariumwriting



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26319751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: It's the end of a long day trekking around Theosoir. Mòrag is cold, Brighid is warm, everyone is tired. Changing that is as easy as breathing.
Relationships: Kagutsuchi | Brighid/Meleph | Mòrag Ladair
Comments: 12
Kudos: 43
Collections: Xenoblade Femslash Exchange 2020





	An Easy Gesture

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written for the XBC Femslash Exchange, for @hanabi_42 over on twitter! They asked for Mòrag and Brighid cuddling on a cold day, and I was VERY happy to be writing them again!!

The light that snuck through the upper parts of Genbu had faded from orange into almost nothing by the time they made their way back to Theosoir. Mòrag would fully admit to being completely exhausted; they'd been up and down more snowdrifts and cliffs than she'd ever wanted to see in her life, and she was cold, damp, and miserable. She needed to wind down - they all did.

While some of their party were content to stay in the more social area of the inn for now, exchanging laughs about the antics of the day now the difficult part was over, Mòrag couldn't wait - she had to get out of these wet, freezing clothes. Anything and everything else could be put on hold until then.

Mòrag shed her coat and hat first, leaving them on the stand to dry. From there, she pulled on the softer furs Zeke had procured for them on their arrival a few days before. She didn’t have a particularly  _ glowing _ opinion of Tantalese fashion, so to speak, but she could live with the drab browns as long as it kept her warm.

Feeling the cold start to seep out of her bones, Mòrag smiled to the empty room. A whole evening to herself; at least until everyone else got back from whatever they’d decided to do now. She plucked a book from one of the shelves in the room, barely paying attention to the title. For now, she just wanted something to sink into.

The inn room was meant to hold several of them, but there were only two chairs. Mòrag didn’t feel too bad, however, about taking the one furthest away from any window or door, tucking her legs up and under her, and opening to the first page.

The tale itself was fairly standard - a story of heroism against all the odds, but with a distinctly Tantalese flavour. The hero was named Addam, of course, and he quested with an eerily familiar yet unnamed blade who wielded a wand and sparked with electric ether. There was a task of sorts that he had to complete, battling through the snow to save Theosoir from an unnamed horror that came from the world above the Cloud Sea.

As Mòrag read of the hero's battle against the frigid winds, she shivered; the window was a little drafty, and with her coat still damp and stiffened with crystals of ice, she couldn't pull another layer on to stave it off. You'd think, with weather like Tantal's, they'd be able to insulate a window. Apparently not.

When her attempt at warming up - shifting her legs back onto the floor and stretching her limbs to get more blood circulating - failed to make much of a difference, she gave up on the book for now. She jumped up and down a handful of times (after checking the corridor to be completely certain that there was no one approaching) and rubbed her hands together before making her way out into the inn's main area. Some tea would warm her up.

The rest of the party had settled at the largest table in the room, Zeke having pulled up an extra one to make sure there was enough space; Tantal didn't see many travellers, so the inn was poorly equipped for a group such as theirs. Pyra waved to her as she emerged, and she nodded as she made her way to the counter. From her quick glance over, it looked like they were playing a card game of some kind. She only hoped nothing got set alight this time; Brighid was a surprisingly sore loser.

"Just a tea, please," she said. "Armu Milk Earl Grey." The inn's owner nodded, fetching one almost immediately.

Letting the warmth seep into her limbs as she cupped her hands around the warm drink, Mòrag made her way over to the table. There wasn't much space left, but she had a good idea of where some room could be made. "Brighid," she greeted. "May I sit over here?"

Brighid didn't even look up from her cards. "Of course, so long as you don't look over my shoulder at these." Too late; she had an absolutely atrocious hand. Brighid shifted up a little along the bench, leaving a small gap for her to squeeze into between her and Rex.

When Mòrag sat down, there still wasn't much space, and she didn't want to squash Rex. At least, that was what she told herself, leaning into her lover's side. In her defence, Brighid was warm and she was cold, and it wasn't like anyone was going to bat an eye at their closeness.

Who was she kidding? After a long day trudging through the miserable snow, Mòrag wanted to be close to her. That was all.

The evening wore on with lively card games, and it was Brighid who started to flag first. Mòrag couldn't blame her in the slightest - out of everyone in their group, Brighid was probably the one who'd expended the most ether energy that day. Her playing got sloppier, and eventually she tapped out entirely, passing her (still terrible - her luck was almost unbelievably bad) hand over to Mòrag towards the end of one game.

From there, it was a foregone conclusion: Brighid's arm found Mòrag’s waist as she pulled herself ever closer. Mòrag was happy to relish her warmth, letting Brighid settle her head on her shoulder. Her hair tickled Morag's neck just a little, but it was the pleasant kind of tickle, like the flickering warmth of a fireplace.

They continued to play, and as their final game - now significantly more subdued as more and more of the group tired - came to a close, Brighid's breathing evened out against Mòrag’s shoulder. Cute.

“Brighid is- mmmpfh!” Mòrag managed to keep herself from shaking with repressed laughter as she watched Pandoria frantically clamp her hand over Tora’s mouth to prevent him from saying more.

They all watched with bated breath as Brighid stirred against Mòrag’s shoulder before she settled down again, now planted even more squarely on her shoulder. Mòrag smiled down at her and waved the others away, watching them tiptoe away to their respective rooms. Just as the last of them filed out, Nia turned round and shot Mòrag a thumb’s up.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she mouthed, uncertain if Nia could actually interpret the unspoken words. Nia just grinned at her knowingly - whatever she thought she knew - and turned down the corridor.

Now alone but for the writer hunched over her notepad in the other corner of the inn, Mòrag turned back towards her love. Her forehead was relaxed, any lines of frustration that Mòrag was so used to seeing during the day now faded into nothing. She leaned down gently, considering just resting her chin on the crown on Brighid’s head, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Brighid stirred slowly, but when she realised where they were she shot upright in her seat. Silently, Mòrag mourned the loss of her warmth on her shoulder. “Good evening, Brighid,” she said with a smile.

“Mòrag, I-” Brighid glanced around once more, noticing that everyone else was gone. “Did I keep you here? My apologies.”

“Nonsense,” Mòrag replied, her voice firm. “It’s perfectly fine. Today clearly tired you out, and I can’t say I minded where you decided to take a nap.”

Brighid looked back down at Mòrag’s shoulder and let out a light laugh. “Well, I think I minded where you decided to place your kiss,” she said. Mòrag smiled at her, hoping her encouragement was visible. If Brighid wanted to take that up with her, she’d gladly comply.

Brighid leaned in slowly, and when Mòrag didn’t draw back, she captured her lips with her own. Mòrag smiled slightly and leaned in closer, letting Brighid’s hand find the back of her hair. Within a moment, she felt those warm fingers at her scalp, and a second later her hair fell down around her shoulders.

When Brighid pulled away again, Mòrag chased her warmth. Instead of going for another kiss, however, she snatched up Brighid’s hands in hers, moving to stand. “Let’s go to bed,” she said.

Brighid’s smile said it all, and Mòrag left her right hand in Brighid’s left as they moved on towards the bedroom. It hadn’t been long since the card game wrapped up, and while Mòrag was sure none of the other inhabitants of the room were asleep already, she didn’t relight the lamps as she prepared for bed.

Instead, she let the soft glow of Brighid’s light illuminate the room, reminding her exactly why she wanted to get to bed as soon as possible. Her clothes folded and prepared for the following day, she slid under the blankets and into Brighid’s waiting arms.

“Am I warm?” Brighid asked when Mòrag tucked her head in the gap between Brighid’s neck and shoulder. Her voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper, but she could still hear the faint amusement and fondness contained within.

“Of course,” she replied, moving her own arms to encircle Brighid’s waist. From there, it didn’t take long to fall asleep in her beloved’s arms.

Mòrag wasn’t known for fondness, or really for sentimental feelings at all. But with Brighid right there beside her, the only way she could feel was content.

**Author's Note:**

> Ty for reading :) if you enjoyed this, a comment is greatly appreciated. I also have a twitter over @samariumwriting where I talk about my (mostly FE3H) work


End file.
